Emails

Definition - Electronic mail, popularly known as email, is a method of communication

whereby an individual or a company uses a computer or some other device (like a cell
phone) to compose and send a message to another individual or a group of individuals.

Benefits/Advantages/Uses of emails

• Fast communication
• Can carry pictures, videos and audio material
• Publish both text and hypertext
• Can be stored on the web
• Easily accessible anytime and anywhere in the world
• It waits for You
• It is One-to-Many and almost Free
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Email Etiquette

Etiquette or the set of guidelines (dos and dont’s) governing communication via email

Email Etiquette is the ethics of behavior that one should using while writing emails or
answering them.

Why is email etiquette important?

 Get the work done

 Professional success
 Creating a good impression
 Efficient working
 Saves time and energy
 Quick communication
 More likely to get the response you want
 Smooth and hassle free interaction.
 Without immediate feedback your document can easily be misinterpreted by
your reader, so it is crucial that you follow the basic rules of etiquette to
construct an appropriate tone.

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Parts/Structure/Format / Style of Email
• Addressing
• Subject
• Greeting/Salutation
• Opening
• Message Text/body
• Closing
• Signature
• Attachments

Addressing

 Limit to who really needs to know.

 Use the ‘To’ line for the recipient’s email id; if there are more than one the
addresses can be separated by semicolons
 Use the ‘CC’ (carbon copy) line, the person in the ‘To’ section will be able to see
who you are sending a copy to.
 When you click BCC, the person you reply to will not see who you are sending a
copy to


Subject
The subject line is the first thing the target receivers see when sorting through their
inboxes.
 Summarize message
 Informative, direct, and states the main issue in the email
 Concise but specific

Greeting/Salutation
• Always open your email with a formal and polite greeting.
• For formal or business e-mails, use the surname, not the first name:
 Dear Mrs. Sharma
 Dear Sir,
 Dear Sir/Madam

Opening
 State your purpose in the opening sentence.
 Begin with a line of thanks or courtesy.
 For example, if someone asked a question, you can begin with:
 Thank you for contacting Tanza Company.
 If someone replied to your email, you can begin with:
 Thank you for your prompt reply.
 Message Text/body
 Be brief but polite.
 Keep the message focused and readable
 Use simple fonts
 Use inverted pyramid (Most Important-Less Important-Least Important)
 Use short sentences and active voice.
 Break into two or three short paragraphs
 Stick to one subject, with one request. Once that’s done, you can send a second
one.
 Avoid exclamation points, ellipses, question marks, italics, underlines, or multi-
colored font.
 Don't use abbreviations or acronyms or all capitals

Closing
Ending an email professionally is just as important as perfecting the rest of the
message.

Before you end your email

• Thank
• Include an accurate follow-up statement
• If a response is required, specify what, when

Use a professional closing:

 Best regards,
 Sincerely,
 Thank you,

For more formal emails:

 Yours Sincerely,
 Yours Faithfully,

Signature
• Add a professional signature which makes it easy to contact you.
• Include
• full professional name
• job title
• business street address
• business phone/fax numbers
• business website, if any

Attachments
 Send longer messages and formal reports as attachments
 If there are any attachments, mention them in the email so that the receiver
knows to look for and open the files.
 Title the attachments in a way that it is easy for the recipient to find once he or
she downloads it.
 In the content of your email inform about the type of software used,
version/year, and title of the attachment
 Do not send unnecessary attachments
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Email etiquettes / how to make it effective? Dos/dont's
 Select Your Audience Correctly
 Add a brief, accurate subject line to your email
 Begin the main text with a formal salutation
 State your purpose clearly in the opening sentence
 Composing Your Messages
 Make the heading meaningful
 Keep each message short and clear
 Start each message by stating its purpose/context
 Keep it short, professional and objective
 Use lists or bullets to give directions or emphasize important points
 Use a professional salutation
 Don’t forget your full signature
 Read over before you send
 Use appropriate closing remarks
 Use a professional closing: (Best regards, /Sincerely, /Thank you,)
 Sign off with your full name, designation and affiliation
 Add the address at the last to avoid sending an empty or incomplete email
 Maintain confidentiality
 Use proper grammar and sentence structure
 Assume everything you write is a public document
 Do not talk about other people in an email message
  Some messages arrive at the end of the last working day of the week. Check
emails just before you leave.
 Use formal language and be to-the-point
 Be Polite and Courteous
 Mention the attachments in the email so that the receiver knows to look for and
open the files.
 Appropriately name the attachments so that the receiver knows what each
document is just by reading the file name.
 Reply promptly to serious messages.
 Do not use all capital letters
 Also, do not use too many exclamation points!!!!
 Do not use abbreviations or slang
 Carefully decide who will see your email
 Be careful not to click on Reply All when you do not want everyone to see your
reply.
 Email is not confidential—do not provide very sensitive or private information
in an email.
 Email is not the place to work out serious problems. Complicated problems
should be discussed by phone or in person.
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